Constitution Bowl tests local students

Thirteen Sanders County youths spent Saturday morning being tested on their knowledge of the U.S. constitution during the Love of Liberty Constitution Bowl.

The bowl was sponsored by local residents and businesses and held at the Trout Creek School.

Organizer Kate Hardman said she came up with the idea after her sister had volunteered for a similar event held in Utah. While participation in the inaugural event was low, more than two dozen spectators watched as the students competed in six rounds of 15 questions each. Hardman said she came up with all of the questions by reviewing the Constitution. She also took a few from the event in Utah.

Two teams competed in the high school division. The Constitution Belles consisted of Emma Barton, Lily Barton, Ruby Hardman and Sophie Hardman. The Loyal Five team included Rowan Ackley, Carson Bedard, Jordan Gandhi, Lucas Honsowetz and Eli Kester. Junior high students competing included Abigail Yoder, Kaydence Barton, Kanan Barton and ShayLyn Stein. The Loyal Five won the high school division with 340 points, with the Constitution Belles garnering 200 points. Yoder, an eighth-grade student from Noxon, led each of the six rounds in the junior high competition. She won the bowl with a total of 190 points. In second place was Stein, a fifth-grader, with 50 points. Kaydance Barton (seventh grade) was third with 25 points and Kanan Barton (seventh grade) was fourth with 20 points.

After an invocation delivered by Public Service Commissioner Jennifer Fielder, the Hardman sisters sang the national anthem. Then it was time for the competition.

Each round included 15 toss-up questions. Competitors buzzed in and the first to do so had 10 seconds to answer the question. If the answer was correct, their team could consult on a bonus question. If the toss-up answer was incorrect, the other team had a chance to answer and get a bonus question. Each correct answer was worth five points.

With just four junior high participants, each round for them consisted of one-on-one competition and each competitor challenging the others for two rounds.

"Very few adults could pull off what you just did. Well done," Johnson, the moderator, said after the final question was answered.

Bedard said the competition was fun. His team, who all live at Mountain Meadows Youth Ranch, made worksheets and would quiz each other to study as a group. The team said questions about the 17th Amendment were the hardest. That amendment changed the process so that voters selected U.S. senators instead of the state legislature. Bedard also credited Sahil Chaudharry, who was a member of the team but graduated the Mountain Meadows program before the competition.

Each division had a moderator and three judges. Adam Johnson was the moderator for the high school competition, with judges Jennifer and Paul Fielder and Dean Johnson. In the junior high division, Cameo Flood served as moderator and Gerald, Rhonda and Lorilee Cullivier were judges.

Carrie Greene and Peggy Bates helped coach the junior high participants. "These guys are doing a great job," Greene said Saturday. "It's a lot to learn. Just have fun. You're doing great." Bates added that the students were doing great despite only meeting to practice questions a handful of times. She added that in practice, she would quiz the kids with flash cards and a list of practice questions.

Following the competition, awards of medals and silver eagle coins were presented to the participants by Rep. Paul Fielder, who quipped that the students knew the Constitution better than most legislators.

Hardman was pleased with the results of the competition."It turned out super, better than I had hoped." She recognized the sponsors and volunteers for the event, and said next year she would like to somehow incorporate adults in the competition. "I would love more of the community to be involved," she said. She added that the winners will have the chance to compete at a national event that is being coordinated by the Utah group.